Jude Law: There’s a Dash of Anarchy and a Sense of Mystery in Young Dumbledore

One of the big movies set for release this year that not a lot of people are talking about is Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald coming out in November. We’re learning more as get closer to Comic-Con, and Jude Law, who is playing the young version of Dumbledore, spoke to Entertainment Weekly about what kind of man Dumbledore is at this point in his life.

Well gosh, there was so much reference to interior life. The one thing that came out was the sense of play. He has a youthful mercurial approach to life, but that there’s something that hangs heavy in his heart, in his past, that underlies all of that. There’s a root of good humor and good heart and sense of self and a sense of past.

Law went on to say that this version of Dumbledore is a little lighter and has a sense of humor, but there is something lurking beneath that he didn’t want to give away.

As I mentioned before, there’s a sense of humor and mischief, a dash of anarchy, a sense of what’s right and what he believes in, and a sense of mystery. There’s also how he comes around to get people onto his way of thinking — which is rather indirectly. He also has a certain heaviness about him that I don’t want to reveal too much about — and that’s something he has to overcome, or hopes to overcome. He’s also got a great passion for sharing his knowledge, he’s a powerful and inclusive teacher.

Potterheads will be confused to hear that Law revealed Dumbledore is not teaching Transfiguration, and he was also not willing to reveal what he is teaching. Perhaps it’s a spoiler of some kind or a reveal they’re looking to bring on people sometime soon.

He doesn’t teach Transfiguration, actually, not at this stage. … At this stage in his career, he’s not. I’m not sure I’m allowed to say what he teaches…

Apparently, Dumbledore also doesn’t have the Elder Wand yet, and the wand he does have is very fitting of his personality.

Albus doesn’t have the Elder Wand yet, no. I have a wand. It’s very reflective of him, beautiful dark wood root with a stone on one end.

Despite the fact that Newt was expelled, Dumbledore clearly still has a lot of faith in his former student or he wouldn’t have asked him to go on such an important mission. They have a complicated relationship, but it’s one with plenty of respect.

I think he admires in Newt this sense of moral code that he will always do the right thing because he can’t do anything but the right thing. I think he likes that Newt finds beauty in beasts because I think occasionally Dumbledore feels like a beast. And there’s a master and mentee kind of relationship. And Newt isn’t afraid to say when he thinks Dumbledore is wrong, it’s not servitude.

We’ll be learning more about this installment in the Fantastic Beasts series at Warner Bros. panel in Hall H on Saturday and as the release date creeps closer.

Summary: The second installment of the ‘Fantastic Beasts and Where to Find Them’ series, which follows the adventures of Newt Scamander.

Fantastic Beasts: The Crimes of Grindelwald, directed by David Yates, will star Eddie Redmayne, Katherine Waterston, Dan Fogler, Alison Sudol, Ezra Miller, with Jude Law and Johnny Depp. It will be released on November 16th.

Kaitlyn is the Editor-in-Chief at Bleeding Cool. She loves movies, television, comics, and political satire. She's a member of the UFCA and the GALECA. Feminist. Writer. Nerd. Follow her on twitter @katiesmovies and @safaiagem on instagram. She's also a co-host at The Nerd Dome Podcast. Listen to it at http://www.nerddomepodcast.com